Orange County DA's office reviews cases overseen by ex-prosecutor accused of bribery
The former prosecutor and retired Orange County Court Judge is accused of knowing the alleged victim, Moutz “Marty” Soudani, the suspect’s uncle, and taking almost $50,000 from him to investigate the case.
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The attorney behind a pending $22.5 million lawsuit against Orange County and a former top prosecutor has filed a motion to dismiss his client’s guilty plea after uncovering evidence of what he calls a “dirty deal.”
Martin Soudani was charged and pleaded guilty last year to an alleged $1.6 million cryptocurrency scheme that was investigated by then Executive Assistant District Attorney Stewart Rosenwasser.
The former prosecutor and retired Orange County Court Judge is accused of knowing the alleged victim, Moutz “Marty” Soudani, the suspect’s uncle, and taking almost $50,000 from him to investigate the case.
“If someone is taking checks during the prosecution of a case, and that’s what happened according to the documentation we were able to obtain during discovery in a related civil matter, if you line up the checks and you line up the text it’s in context that these payments are in relation to the prosecution. It’s shocking,” says Martin Soudani’s attorney, Arthur Middlemiss.
Middlemiss says a series of texts between alleged victim and Rosenwasser were also discovered, including one alleged exchange where Moutz Soudani allegedly wrote Rosenwasser that he’d make him, “extremely more than happy." Rosenwasser allegedly replied saying he’d “always protect” and “help” him. Another exchange included remarks allegedly made by Soudani that he destroyed “everything that was bad on the phone.”
Martin Soudani was facing up to 25 years in prison, despite what Middlemiss says were his client’s claims that the money was given to him from a trust, in which he was the beneficiary of, by his uncle.
“He knew the complainant’s friend was driving the train and that all of the defenses that he had proffered from had fallen on deaf ears,” says Middlemiss. “The offer that was given gave him a chance to get out of jail potentially within three months and he took it.”
Martin Soudani and his mother, Eman, are suing Rosenwasser, the county, the district attorney and a senior staff member for the alleged false prosecution. Eman Soudani has also filed a separate lawsuit under the Adult Survivors Act against Moutz Soudani for incest and rape. Middlemiss says the mother and son were living with Moutz Soudani in Orange County and moved to Colorado when Moutz Soudani approached Rosenwasser about the alleged theft.
“There’s an incredibly long and horrific history of incestuous abuse between the complainant and his sister. It appears that the complainant either wanted to get them back to retain control of the people he was abusing or he wanted to punish them. He essentially hired an executive assistant district attorney to take care of the problem.”
According to court documents obtained by News 12, Martin Soudani paid back nearly $500,000 in funds that were allegedly stolen prior to his sentencing. The judge presiding over the sentencing said Soudani was minimizing his involvement in the case and wasn’t being truthful.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office tells News 12 that Rosenwasser was hired in 2019 as a counsel for policy and research to help with discovery reform. It says Rosenwasser had no direct supervisory role, except for the last five weeks of his employment and that he oversaw four cases during that time: a case against the Orange County Industrial Development Agency, a Newburgh restaurant arson and a theft from SUNY Orange - all of which were worked on with state and local agencies and have been reviewed to make sure they were handled correctly.
District Attorney Dave Hoovler said in a statement that the allegations relate “solely and wholly to Judge Rosenwasser and a single case. If true, he disgraced the judiciary, the people he worked with and the citizens of Orange County.”
Rosenwasser resigned suddenly in June 2024 in a letter to the district attorney that said, “This is to advise you that I am retiring from the practice of law and therefore am leaving my position in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, effective immediately. Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of your office and serve the people of Orange County.”
According to a source, Rosenwasser is also under federal investigation for tax evasion. News 12 reached out him for comment but has not received a response.
